25 August 2010 by ben.

On 18 August, Kim, Bonnie and I drove over Washington Pass to Klipchuck Campground, a few miles from Mazama and a few more from Winthrop, for a short camping trip.  Our plan was to hike every day, dine at least once on burgers and fries at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, and treat ourselves to ice cream and lattes at Sherry’s in Winthrop.

Thankfully, the heat wave in eastern Washington waned the day we arrived, and we enjoyed our first hike in near perfect conditions — sunny and about 65 degrees (at 6800′ elevation).  We drove to Harts Pass, a rather tense drive through the woods often with a large sloping dropoff on one side and just a single lane of road width.  During one stretch of about 1/2 mile, the slope on the left side was steep and dropped off 800′.  But we made it to Harts Pass and then the two mile jaunt to Meadows Campground.  Our round trip to Grasshopper Pass (about 11 miles) took most of the day and afforded incredible views every step of the way.

Day 2, we drove to Winthrop and then up a road to Sun Mountain Lodge for an easier day of hiking on the hills above Winthrop with great views of the Methow River Valley in many places.  When we stopped for a light lunch, I sat on a stump and then got up with sticky sap on my shorts.

Day 3, we drove west to the Cutthroad Lake and Cutthroat Pass trail head.  Before the day was done, we’d hiked 12 miles and climbed 2400′ to the pass, which intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail.  Enroute, we stopped for a snack and happened across two white-tailed ptarmigans (approachable if you are slow and patient), lots of squirrels, mountain bikers, hikers with dogs (one named “Nathan” who posed with Bonnie), and a kajillion wild huckleberries.  On our return from the pass, we picked enough wild huckleberries for our pancakes the next morning.

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13 June 2009 by ben.

Stuart MacDonald led Jazz Band 2 and Jazz Band 3 through their end-of-year concert last Thursday evening.  Both bands showed off their chops as they swung through a challenging pair of sets largely of compositions written by local area composers.

Jazz Band 2 entered the stage in surprise garb meant to reflect Stuart’s preference for wearing sweaters onstage.  Both band’s contributed towards a pair of stylish retro shoes for Stuart.

Stuart MacDonald and the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band II

Stuart MacDonald and the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band III 

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21 December 2008 by ben.

Our snow and cold just won’t go away!  The low on Saturday morning was 14.9 degrees F (-9.5C), the coldest ever reported by my weather station, with the average for the past two days just 23 degrees F.  Saturday, another snow storm moved into the area, dropping 7″ (18 cm) of new snow.  My brother, Nathan, in Montesano near the Pacific Ocean, reported 14″ (35.5 cm) of snow by 10 pm last night as it was tapering off at his house.  Seattle was spared most of the high winds from this powerful storm, which generated gusts of 70 MPH in Enumclaw and 100 MPH in Cumberland.

Kim and I got back from the Christmas shopping shortly after the snow began to fall in earnest just after 3 pm, and so we were able to enjoy the rare spectacle of snow on a very cold day in Seattle.  I took these shots after 10 pm around our home.  In this first photo, our older corgi, Raffle, plays a bit in the snow.  She’s about 86 in ‘people years,’ but bursts with exuberance in the snow!

Raffle loving the snow

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6 September 2008 by ben.

Thanks to the efforts of Kim and Bonnie, our backyard garden became a hummingbird cafe this year.  We had multiple sightings each day for several weeks, one time with three zipping around at the same time.  There were so many flowers from which to feed — gladiolas and tiger lilies and others — that one time a hummingbird zipped around, fed, and rested, and zipped around some more over a twenty minute period until it was too bored with our flowers and flew away.

Hummingbird enjoying an early evening snack

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4 March 2007 by ben.

On Sunday, 4 February 07, Phil stayed in Tucson for his final performance of Madame Butterfly, and Kim, Marion and I hiked most of the way up the Pontatoc Canyon Trail just north of Tucson, rising about 1900′ above the trail head and about 2500′ above Tucson for this beautiful panorama.
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21 February 2007 by ben.

Kim and I had our longest getaway ever this year (nearly six days!), reliving the honeymoon we never had, by flying to Tucson, Arizona at 6 am on February 1st. Yes, that’s early — we were up at 4 am — but we were psyched. Time to ourselves, away from jobs, routines, the usual worries and chores; and hopefully we’d get a huge dose of sunshine to blow away the winter blues. We were going to meet Marion, meet up with my parents a couple times, see Phil’s opera, and, weather permitting, hike in the mountains north of Tucson. And that happened, and more!

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11 January 2007 by ben.

I read about this comet just today in the Seattle Times in a brief article that said it would be visible just after sunset, but close to the horizen. So… I drove to Sunset Park in Ballard (Seattle) which overlooks Puget Sound looking west for a terrific view across the water to the silhouetted Olympic Mountains. The temperature was 28 degrees and dropping, and it was breezy, yet dozens of people arrived at this tiny park to have a chance to see a comet. All that I talked with had never seen a comet before.

Then three things occurred at a glacial pace: the sky darkened; the comet emerged; and my fingers froze. I snapped a few photos and was happy to get back to the heater in the van!

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22 December 2006 by ben.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle is the Pike Place Market. It a thriving public farmers market that first opened in 1907 and includes a variety of fish, cheese, vegetable and flower vendors plus an array of artisans including photographers and painters. Along the main brick street one can find delicious bakeries, the original Starbucks store, a wine merchant, several restaurants, and great gift shops.

And on the first afternoon of winter, I had a chance to see the market with the additional adornment of holiday lights. It was a fairly dark afternoon, with a terrific rain storm only an hour away, but for a while, it was simply elegant and charming.
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